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Categories: Fun & Games; Arts & Culture; Sports & Recreation; Outdoor Adventures; History & Heritage; Local Highlights
If you like to mix past and present, natural beauty and urban attractions, plan a sojourn to Long Island. This 120-mile expanse takes in two boroughs of New York City (Brooklyn and Queens), two major airports (John F. Kennedy International and La Guardia Airports), hundreds of modern suburbs, wineries, farms, fishing villages, pristine parks, sandy beaches, and yacht clubs, as well as fully restored buildings representing 18th- and 19th-century Americana.
Stretching into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island is divided into a North and South Shore by the Long Island Expressway (I-495). To sample the best of the North Shore, turn north from the expressway to visit Oyster Bay, home to Raynham Hall, a 20-room "saltbox"-style house filled with Revolutionary War and Victorian furnishings and momentos; Planting Fields Arboretum, a magnificent array of gardens and greenhouses containing one of the country's largest under-glass collections of camellias; the adjacent 65-room Tudor revival mansion, Coe Hall; and in nearby Cove's Neck, Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, the "Summer White House" of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Further east, visit Huntington, a former whaling town, where you can tour the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum filled with relics of the days of "iron men and wooden ships," as well as the birthplace of poet Walt Whitman. In Centerport, visit the Vanderbilt Museum and Planetarium and a Spanish-Moroccan-style mansion overlooking Long Island Sound. The former home of William K. Vanderbilt II contains many antiques, souvenirs, and trophies. On the grounds are the Marine Museum, observatory, and natural history habitats.
History also plays a starring role in Stony Brook. The Village Center, a federalist style village, includes quaint shops, a country inn, and a working grist mill. The nearby Museums at Stony Brook complex includes an art museum, a carriage museum, a history museum, blacksmith shop and other restored buildings, and the new Educational and Cultural Center. Between Aquebogue and Greenport, several wineries offer tours and tastings.
Fire Island National Seashore, located off the south shore of Long Island, consists of 26 miles of a dynamic barrier island. Smith Point County Park, accessible by bridge, offers nature walks and a boardwalk trail. Sailors Haven & the Sunken Forest and Watch Hill, accessible by ferry from Sayville or Patchogue, offer swimming, marinas, and nature walks. Fire Island Lighthouse, reached by a causeway, has nature trails and a museum. The William Floyd Estate, 613 acres, has a 25-room mansion with period furnishings. At East Islip, visit Bayard Cutting Arboretum, a former estate that has been converted to a park filled with nature walks, aquatic birds, and a variety of flowers, shrubs, and trees.
To the east, visit the Hamptons, ranging from Westhampton to East Hampton. In East Hampton, attractions include the childhood home of John Howard Payne, who wrote "Home, Sweet Home," the Old Mulford House, the Clinton Academy, and the Hook Mill. Today East Hampton is a fashionable summer resort, known for fine beaches, impressive oceanfront mansions, and nearby wineries. To experience more of Long Island's history, turn north to Sag Harbor, an old whaling town (founded in 1707), that was once home to James Fenimore Cooper. Visit the Whaling Museum, Custom House, and nearby National Wildlife Refuge. From Sag Harbor on the South Fork (or Greenport on the North Fork), you can take a ferry to Shelter Island, a resort that offers scenic views, sandy beaches, biking, sailing, and hiking over nature trails.
Back on the South Fork, turn east again to visit Montauk, on the tip of Long Island, a resort and fishing town that is home port for a busy fleet of charter deep-sea fishing boats. Montauk Lighthouse, built in 1795 by the order of President George Washington, can be toured. Fine parks in the area are Montauk Point and Hither Hills State Park. If you are interested in more recent history, backtrack to Levittown, a planned community built after World War II, that became a model for the modern suburb. On your way back to New York City, stop at Elmont, home to the Belmont Park Race Track, home of thoroughbred racing's third leg of the Triple Crown.
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